Vehicle-wheel.



A. FROMMANN. VEHICLE WHEEL. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 10. 1913- Patented Dec 19,1916.

2 SHEETSSHEETI F. A. FROMMANN.

VEHlCLE WHEEL. APPLICATION men MAR. :0. i913.

Patentedi nms, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Z0477? asses:

srsns ca, mama-11:40.. WASP" I STATES PATENT OFFICE.

eERA NKIEIN 5A. FROMMANN, ZOF-.,GHIGAGQ, ZILBINOI$,;.ASSIGNOR To oLIv-E EROMMANN,

. :or-cHIoAeo,- InLmoIs.

To all whom-it may concern "Bait known that :I, FRANKLIN A. .FROM- MAN'NfCCllZElZGIL of: the United States, residing at Chicagoyin the county or Cook and State of I-llinois, have invented certain 1 new and useful Improvements in Vehicle Wheels; andL do hereby declare the'following to be a full,":1ear,andexact description of the invention, suchras willenable others skilled in the-art to wh -ich it-apperta'ins-to -ma-ke and use the same;

My in'vention relates to vehicle Wheels of the class-having part or-all of the resiliency of the wheel provided by a cushioninglmemher or memberspositioned interiorly of the tire formation of the wheel. v

In my copendingapplications Serial Nos.

740,460, 740,459 and 735,722, I: have shown and described wheels of this class, each equipped with a tire 'member floatingly mounted withrespect to the hub and: to :an inner rimca'rried by'thehub, the said rim carrying oneor more annularly disposed cushioning members bearing outwardly against-'thefloatingly carried tire member of the wheel.

My present invention relates to a wheel construction in which the interposed cushiioning member is carried by thetire formation of the-W-heeland has centripetal bearing against, and frictional contact with, the" innor rim of the wheel.

One object o'f'my invention is to provide a'w-he'el constructionof this class which-will permit the interiorly' positioned cushioning member or members to be mounted uponthe ti-re member of the wheel.

- Another object "is to provide a simple, strong and well braced rim construction which will simultaneously secure the tread formation of the-tire andthe interior cushioning members to the other separable portions of the tire" member of the 'Wheel.

Still further objects are to provide means for wedgingly interlocking the various portions of the tire formation simultaneously, and for housing the interior cushioning members so as to protectthem from the action of mud, snow, stones or sand-which might otherwise enter the part of the wheel in which the cushioning member is mounted.

The wheel construction of my invention is equally applicable to Wheels having tread formations of wood or other comparatively .55 non-resilient materials, and to wheels'having specification of Letters Patenti, Patented Dec. ,19, 1916. Applicatiomfi ledMarch 10, 1913. 1Seria1=N0."7v53;321.

inn-outer tire rimof vulcanized rubber or other resilient material adapted to supplement the cushioning, action: of: the interiorly positionefdamember or members, and is shown in ubQth applications in the accompanying drawings. 1

:In the drawings :(Figure .1- is a fragmentaryzsideeleuationiof-a wheel embodyinginyinvention, portions of the wheel being broken away to disclose other portions thereof. Fig. 2 .is a section through Figl along-the linei2fi2. Figs. 3, l ,;and.- +5-/, are fragmentary sections through:ialternative;embodiments of my inrvention.-

' :In .zthezembodiment of Fig. l, the :wheel- 'vcomprises a :hub ;2 ,mounted upon :a shaft 1 and held thereon by a nut 3, the?hubshavingvintegral therewith a plurality' of spokes a iterminating in .a cylindrical rim 5. At each side of. the wheel, the rim 5 has, annular flanges 6 extending radially in- .Ward of:thewheel {along planes at right an- :gleszto'thezaxisnof the shaft 1 of the wheel. Bearing laterally' againstthesaid flanges 6 at opposite sides 'of ,the' Wheel and extending "radially"outward beyond the periphery of ing ti'resi 'Radially outward of the annular formations engaging the cushion-holding -r-im-8,' the side flanges Tare provided with a "plurality of transverse perforations adapted'to receivebolts 10 extending transversely throughboth flanges and adapted to draw the same into interlocking or clamping engagement A with the cushion-holding rim 8 and simultaneously into frictionally sliding contact with the lateral flanges 6 of the inner rim of the wheel. Radially outward of the said perforations, the side flanges have substantially cylindrical end formations adapted to form part of the seat for an outwardly directed tire-clenching rim 11, into which an exterior cushioning tire 12 is adapted to be inserted, and also having adjacent to its lateral edges outwardly directed wedging formations 12 adapted to engage the tire-holding rim 11 adjacent to its lateral edges. By suitably designing the'shapes of the said flanges 12, the side flanges 7' when drawn toward each other by the bolts 10 will simultaneously grip both the clenching rim 8 carrying the inner cushioning member and the outer clenching rim 11 having the cushion tire 12 mounted thereon, and will bear lightly against the flanges 6 of the inner rim so as to hold the. tire member of the wheel in lateral alinement with the hub and spoke formation. To prevent the bolts 10 from flexing the side flanges 7 out of their normal shape, I preferably provide stiffening ribs 1st extending outward from the inner edge of the side flanges to the perforated portion thereof, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2-'.

Instead of having the outer tire rim 11 equipped for holding a rubber tire having laterally projecting flanges, as in Fig. 2, the said rim may be adapted for receiving tread blocks of wood, as in Figs. 3 and a. Likewise, instead of having the bolt-heads and the nuts of the bolts 10 projecting beyond the lateral edges of the side flanges 7, these said flanges may be provided with recesses 15 adapted to house the said heads and nuts, as in Figs. 3- and -4-.

Instead of equipping the side flanges 7 with circumferential formations l2 adapted to engage the lateral edges of the tireholding member 11, these said flanges may terminate in formations adapted only to force the said member 11 outwardly by a wedging action, as in Fig. l. Or, the wedging action may be produced by annular flanges drawn into simultaneous wedging engagement both with thering carrying the outer tread formation and with the ring carrying the inner cushioning formation, as in Fig. -5, in which case the side flanges may be shortened radially into annular plates 16 secured to the inner rim 6 of the tire by bolts 17.

lVhile I have spoken of the inner cushioning element 9 as a single member, I do not wish to be limited to this arrangement, as the interior resiliency of the wheel might be provided by a series of cushioning members disposed in annular formation and separated by radial spaces 18, as shown in Fig. -1. Having previously described and Copies of this patent may be obtained for claimed the use of a floatingly mounted tire member of a wheel in connection with side flanges extendingradially inward of the same and laterally guiding the same with respect to the hub member of the wheel, I do not claim this as new in itself, but only in combination with the other elements as herein disclosed. It will be evident from Figs. -2, 3, -tl:' and -5, that my present invention not only provides a simple method of mounting the cushioning member within the wheel, but also entirely incases this so as to prevent sand and stones from entering this portion- 0f the wheel and causing undue wear upon the inner cushioning member. While I have shown this inner cushioning member in a form having laterally projecting flanges coacting with corresponding formations upon the tire member of the wheel for holding the same in operative position, I do not wish to be limited to this particular design or construction, nor to other details of the construction which might be modified in many ways without departing, from the spirit of my invention. a

I claim as my invention:

In a vehicle wheel, a hub member, a rim rigid therewith, equipped with parallel radial side flanges extending inwardly from its outer periphery, a clencher tire rim sur rounding said rigid rim and movable with respect thereto, an annular cushion equipped at its outer periphery with a rigid clencher carrier and yieldingly supporting the clencher tire rim radially with respect to the'rigid rim, a pairof opposite rigid side flanges each provided with a pair of circumferential grooves adapted to receive respective edges of said clencher rim and clencher carrier, and overlapping at their edges the side flanges of the rigid rim, and bolts extending between the clencher rim and clencher carrier and clamping said opposed side flangesrigidly upon same, said clencher rim and carrier serving to rigidly space said side flanges and prevent their inner edges binding upon the side flanges of the rigid rim.

In testimony whereof I have signed my FRANKLIN A. FROMMANN.

Witnesses ALBERT SGHEIBLE, M. M. BOYLE.-

five cents eaclnby addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, G. 

